Investigations into the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 spending will be focused on locating a multimillion-dollar BMW Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that has gone missing.
Former President
Bharrat Jagdeo
According to the forensic audit report for CWC 2007, which has been handed over to police for criminal investigations, the vehicle, a white X3 jeep, with Chassis Number WBAPA72010WB51380, was registered to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS), according to records of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
However, there were no traces of the vehicle when forensic auditor, John Barnes, conducted checks.
The missing vehicle was among several other red flags – including missing records – that prompted the administration to order a criminal probe.
There are some theories that the missing vehicle could have been shipped out, as it would stick out like a sore thumb here.
The CWC report and the one on the Pradoville Two dealings were both handed over to Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud, two Fridays ago, by Government, for investigations.
The two reports have been considered by the Cabinet of Ministers and it was concluded that enough evidence existed for the police to become involved.
According to the CWC forensic audit report seen by Kaieteur News, in 2006, the Bharrat Jagdeo-led
Former Sports Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony
administration took a decision to import 20 BMW vehicles for World Cup Cricket in 2007 and the Rio Conference that was to be held in Guyana in the same year.
BMW was a major sponsor for the event, and, as part of the arrangements, Guyana had to acquire the vehicles to move officials around.
The report disclosed that the ministry paid the contractor the first half of this amount, $84M on December 29, 2006 and the second half on July 28, 2007.
According to the Auditor, he sought to obtain certain aspects of information on this importation, but early December last year, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) had not responded despite several reminders.
The auditor wanted to know the number of BMW vehicles actually imported, notwithstanding the fact that the records of MCYS show 20 and the landed cost of the vehicles as per the records of GRA.
In charge of the MCYS in 2007 was former Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony.
The auditor found that the management of the vehicles and decision to dispose of a number of them were murky in the details.
While a number of the vehicles were registered to particular ministries, they were found elsewhere at other Government entities.
“The licence records held by GRA were not helpful in this regard, since there are vehicles that continue to be licensed in the name of a particular Ministry without any letter of authorization being sent to GRA by the Ministry concerned.”
With regards to the sale of the vehicles, the auditor found evidence that 11 of them were sold – including 10 sedans.
BUYERS
The purchasers of the high-end vehicles, with low mileage, included National Hardware, Auto Supplies, King’s Jewellery World, Friendship Oxygen, Noor Rahaman and Lorenzo Alphonso.
Police investigators will be looking for an SUV like this BMW X3. It was brought in for the 2007 Cricket World Cup but is nowhere to be found.
The proposed sale of the BMW vehicles was reportedly first advertised in the Sunday April 9, 2007 issue of the Guyana Chronicle.
According to the report, several persons tendered for the vehicles, and bids of $16.1M , $10.5M and $11M were made by Ramesh Dookhoo of the Private Sector Commission, Terrence Paton, and Clinton Williams of GNIC, respectively.
Dookhoo tendered for a SUV while Paton and Williams tendered for sedans.
“No sale was made to any of the three gentlemen, even though official acceptance of their bids was communicated to them.
A letter from the then Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon dated January 22, 2008, authorised new sale prices – the sedans for $9M and the SUV for $11M.
The transactions by the then Government for CWC were highly questionable as the spending was never made public despite numerous calls.
DUTIES
Had the duties been added, buyers could have ended up paying up to $13M.
With regards to the CWC police probe, when it gets going, investigators are also likely to examine further, the procedures in the transfer of lands and advance of cash to the Buddy’s Hotel, Providence. Buddy’s Hotel is now under new owners and has been rebranded under Ramada and the Princess group.
As part of conditions to host the World Cup Super Eight matches, Guyana had to build a new stadium, as the Bourda ground was deemed too small and inadequate.
Guyana also had to provide adequate hotel rooms.
The Providence Stadium was built by an Indian contractor to facilitate the matches.
The stadium hosted six World Cup matches between March 28, 2007 and April 9, 2007.
PRADOVILLE TWO
With regards to the Pradoville Two, police will investigate the transactions which saw Jagdeo and his friends acquiring several acres of prime seaside property behind Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara. The exclusive housing area was cynically dubbed Pradoville Two because of the high-end vehicles that would traverse the roads there.
The lands were sold, according to the forensic audit report, for far below the market price.
State resources were used to develop the plot which was later sold to Jagdeo, several of his ministers and other officials.
Other beneficiaries included Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, the then Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral Gary Best; and former Head of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo.
Former Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford; former Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud; Compton Bourne, former Head of the Caribbean Development Bank and UG Chancellor; Ghansham Singh and Kamini Parag-Singh and Florrie Loretta Ramnauth also received house lots.